Here you will find things about fitness and nutrition, mainly (but not exclusively) in relation to the Beachbody programs like P90x and Insanity. And, I will start adding reviews for Books, DVDs and Blu-Rays, and other products. All views and opinions on this blog are my own.
Welcome
Welcome to my ever-evolving blog. It started out as a blog on Beachbody workouts and products, mainly when I was a Beachbody coach. I no longer coach, not because I don't believe in Beachbody's programs (I subscribe to Beachbody on Demand and use their workouts every day), I am just not a salesperson and hated that aspect of it. I am more than willing to answer questions about my experiences with their products and the various workouts, and I feel freer to do so without the appearance of giving a biased review of something.
I have also started adding reviews for various things I have purchased like movies, books, CDs, and other products. This was brought about by a fight with Amazon in which all of my reviews were removed over a completely bullshit allegation that I posted a review that violated their terms of service. After going back and forth with the morons in the community-reviews department (even after they admitted that my posts did not violate their guidelines) they restored my account (which took them six months to do), but I have been posting my reviews on my blog to have them preserved in case something like that happens again. And here, I will post uncensored reviews so I will swear from time to time and post reviews that may be longer than Amazon's character limit. Everything I post here on any topic or product is my personal opinion, and I take no compensation for any product reviews I post. I am a member of Amazon's vine program and because I get those products for free, I keep those reviews on Amazon only, but everything I have purchased with my own money, whether from Amazon or some other store/website/outlet, I will post here.
I also plan to do some longer blog posts on various topics, such as how to learn physics, how to get through calculus, and longer reviews of workout programs as I do them. Basically, whatever strikes me as interesting at the time. As you can see if you navigate around the blog, I had many years in between postings. During that time I was going back to school to get an engineering degree, and learning material that I avoided my first time through college was a different experience and one that gave me a lot of insight into how to do well in those classes, which I will try to impart here for those who are looking to get a science or engineering degree.
Wednesday, August 6, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 5
Tuesday, July 29, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory Season 10
The blu-ray set is a two-disc set, and the show looks and sounds great in the HD format. The extras include the Comic-Con writer's panel, a featurette in which the cast responding to Twitter questions, a short feature on the new family members introduced this season (Leonard's father, and Penny's mother and brother), a feature on Howard's and Bernadette's baby, highlights from the cast Comic-Con panel, and a gag reel. The episodes can be played with English captions, but they cannot be played in a "play all" mode that allows you to pick up where you left off. If you stop watching before completing every episode on the disc, you'll need to find where you left off.
Monday, July 28, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 4
The season picks up shortly after the events that ended season three, revealing whether Sam was successful in stopping Diane's marriage to Frasier. From there, the show continues to be a blend of a story-of-the-week procedural and serial story arcs. The show remains primarily a comedy, but occasionally mixes in some dramatic moments. Some of the comedy is very much dated, and some of it absolutely would not be done the same way if the series were made today. Some of the jokes are very funny, but others are a bit cringeworthy.
The blu-ray set is a three-disc set. As with the first three seasons, the A/V quality of the episodes is very good. As of this writing, the individual seasons have only been released on DVD, and the blu-rays are only available as a complete series set. There is no bonus material for the fourth season, just the episodes, which can be played in a "play all" mode that allows you to pick up where you leave off, and can be played with or without English captions.
The series continues to be funny, but the "will they or won't they" storyline between Sam and Diane does get a bit old this season. The writers provide all the characters with good material to work with, and each of them receives at least a storyline for an episode or two. They continue to expand Frasier's role, and he is much funnier this season than he was in Season Two. Woody Harrelson does a very good job being the new cast member and playing a character with similar qualities to Coach, without being a carbon copy. Ultimately, if you liked the series up to this point, you will probably like the fourth season. While I cannot say that everyone will like the series, especially younger people who may not like some of the humor, if you liked Seasons 1-3, this one is worth watching.
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 3
The blu-ray set is a three-disc set and reproduces the content of the original DVD releases. Again, the individual seasons are not available on blu-ray; you can (at least as of this writing) only get the blu-rays in a complete series set. The A/V quality of the blu-ray release is very good. The extras are all included on the final disc. Those include clips of Norm talking about his wife Vera (who never appear on screen), clips of Carla making fun of Cliff, clips of Fraiser's key moments in the season, a virtual tour of the bar, and a tribute to Nicholas Colasanto (which features interviews with Ted Danson, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman talking about Colasanto and what he brought to the show and the character of Coach.
The series really found its footing by the third season. The show continued to be a mix of procedural weekly storylines and longer serial arcs. While the show's focus remained on Sam and Diane's relationship, the writers continued to expand the storylines for the supporting characters, particularly Cliff and Norm. Each of the supporting characters received at least one show devoted to him or her. As was the case in the first two seasons, there are definitely jokes that would probably not be used if the show were made today, and there are quite a few adult jokes, so while the series is mostly good-natured and wholesome, it is not entirely family-friendly. Ultimately, if you liked the first couple of seasons, this one is worth watching.
Friday, May 30, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 9
The relationships of the characters continue to be the centerpiece of the show. All the couples on the show go through a period of transition in their relationship, and even Raj does a complete 180 from his days of not being able to talk to women unless drunk, with pretty humorous results. Overall, I think if you have found the show enjoyable in the past few seasons and have not felt it getting stale, then you will also enjoy this season. If it has been getting stale for you, then you may not.
The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The extras include the comic con panel, a few short behind-the-scenes features, including one devoted to the 200th episode, and a gag reel. Definitely good for what is there. Unlike one of the other reviewers, I had no problems with episode 12 not playing or missing in my set, so it is not a problem that affects the entire lot of blu-ray sets out there.
Sunday, May 25, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 2
The show continued to primarily use a story-of-the-week procedural format, but also called back to storylines from previous episodes. The prominent serial arc was Sam's (played by Ted Danson) relationship with Diane (played by Shelly Long). The second season picks up immediately after the events that ended season one, with Sam and Diane kissing and agreeing to try to have a relationship. To say their relationship did not go smoothly was an understatement, with the two constantly bickering throughout the season. Even though their relationship was the primary storyline throughout the season, the writers gave all the cast members great material to work with, and all the characters received at least one episode centered on them.
The blu-ray set is a four-disc set. Again, at least in the US, the blu-rays are only available as a complete series set, with each season packaged individually inside a decorative outer box. The A/V transfer is very good, and the play all mode allows you to pick up where you leave off if you stop before watching all the episodes. The individual seasons are only available on DVD, which is a four-disc set. The extras are all on the third disc and are transferred over from the DVD release. Those include interviews with some of the cast members, some of which included archival footage from an Entertainment Tonight segment, and some of which were from interviews with Danson, George Wendt, and Rhea Perlman made after the series ended. Then there are three different featurettes showing clips of Cliff's, Norm's, and Carla's best moments of the season and a gag reel.
The show really starts to hit its stride in the second season. It is a good comedy, but some of the jokes are absolutely dated and would not work today. For example, there are jokes about being gay that would probably not get past today's censors, and a segment where Sam and Diane repeatedly slap each other that would not fly today. That said, the series is mostly good-natured and enjoyable. While there is no overt sexual content, there are jokes that are definitely suggestive, so it is not entirely family-friendly. Ultimately, if you liked the first season, the second season is worth watching.
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 8
The 24-episode 8th season of The Big Bang Theory aired during the 2014/2015 TV season. All of the main cast members return for the 8th season, as do many of the primary recurring cast members such as Carol Ann Susi, Regina King, John Ross Bowie, Wil Wheaton, Laurie Metcalf, Christine Baranski, and Stephen Hawking (in another voice appearance). This season's notable guest stars include Stephen Root, Billy Bob Thornton, LeVar Burton, Nathan Fillion, and Kevin Smith (in a voice appearance).
The blu-ray set is a two-disc set. The A/V transfer is very good, and the show looks and sounds great. For extras, on disc one, there is a relatively short writer's panel (and Wil Wheaton's appearance) from Comic-Con and a behind-the-scenes feature on Billy Bob Thornton's guest appearance. The second disc has a feature on a group of contest winners who were taken to the set and sat in the studio audience, a short feature on Kaley Cuoco, Jim Parsons, and Chuck Lorre getting stars on the Walk of Fame, a tribute to Carol Ann Susi, and a gag reel. Definitely good for what is there.
If you have loved the show and do not think it has gone stale then you will love this season. If you have hated the show either because of the laugh track or any other reason, this season is not really going to do anything to change your mind. Thankfully the show is popular enough that the studio is still released on blu ray, for those of us who get the discs and prefer that format. The show definitely lays the groundwork for where it is going next season. As other reviewers have said it would be good if the show took some of the focus off the relationship of the main characters and incorporated more of their families into some episodes. That said, however, if you love the show this is definitely worth adding to your collection.
Saturday, May 17, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: Cheers: Season 1
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory Season 7
There are a couple of different blu-ray sets out there. The original release was a five-disc set with two blu-rays and three DVDs. It was later re-released as a two-disc blu-ray set. The A/V quality of the blu-rays is outstanding. My only critique is that the "play all" feature does not allow you to pick up where you leave off if you do not watch all the episodes on the disc in one sitting. As far as extras go for those who get the Blu-rays (or DVDs), there is a lot of behind-the-scenes material, a Comic-Con panel with the writers, a making of the Star Wars day episode, and a gag reel. All in all, probably around an hour's worth of bonus material. Definitely enough to make those who like going through that stuff happy.
Saturday, May 10, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 6
Friday, April 25, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 5
Sunday, April 13, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory Season 4
Monday, April 7, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 3
Friday, April 4, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 2
Thursday, March 27, 2025
Blu-Ray/TV Series Review: The Big Bang Theory: Season 1
Thursday, September 26, 2024
DVD/TV Series Review: 2 Broke Girls: The Complete Series
I will not go into too much detail so I do not spoil the show for those who have not seen it, but it is a fairly standard sitcom that mostly has story-of-the-week episodes, with some longer story arcs that play out throughout the show's run. The humor is very raunchy. I am still amazed that they got away with some of the jokes they did. They also show off Behrs in skimpy outfits and Denning's cleavage in pretty much every episode. So, if sex and drug jokes offend you, definitely stay away from this show.
The complete series set is just the individual season sets packaged into one box. Similar to what was released for shows like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and the like. Hence, all the DVD extras are identical to those in the individual season releases. There are no extras that are exclusive to this set. Overall, the show was funny (if you like the kind of humor), well-written, and well-acted. The only thing I did not like about the series was the finale. I think it mostly felt like just another episode (with one exception) and did not give all the characters a great sendoff as series finales should. Overall, however, it is a very enjoyable show and worth checking out if you are a fine of sitcoms.
Sunday, September 22, 2024
DVD/TV Series Review: 2 Broke Girls Season 6
The DVD set is a two-disc set. The extras are bare bones, consisting of deleted scenes on each of the two discs and a gag reel on disc 2. There are no making-of or behind-the-scenes features, no retrospective on the series, or the like. Definitely not much, especially given that it was the final season. Overall, if you like the prior seasons, you will probably like this one. Even though I was not thrilled by the final episode, the season overall was still funny and enjoyable.
Friday, September 20, 2024
DVD/TV Series Review: 3 Broke Girls Season 5
The show was definitely one of those sitcoms that found what worked for it and did not deviate much, if at all, from that format. The jokes this season were just as dirty (if not more so at times) than they were in prior seasons. I do not get offended by sex/drug comedy, but I have been amazed at what they were able to get past the censors for a show that aired in primetime on network television. If you do not like that kind of humor, though, this show is definitely not for you.
The DVD set is a three-disc set. The extras are similar to what was included in the previous couple of seasons' DVD releases. The extras include deleted scenes (about 10 minutes worth) and a short (five-minute) gag reel. All the extras are included on the final disc. Overall, I would say that if you are a fan of the prior seasons, then you will probably like this one. If, however, you did not like the earlier seasons, then nothing about this one will likely convert you.
Wednesday, September 18, 2024
DVD/TV Series Review: 2 Broke Girls Season 4
The series' humor is very much like the first three seasons, very adult (it is still amazing that they got away with some of the jokes they did) with a mix of physical comedy from almost every cast member at one point or another. Unlike past seasons, there are no Han or Earl-centric episodes, but they each have good moments throughout the season.
The DVD set is a three-disc set. For those who get the DVD set, the only extras are seven minutes of deleted scenes, and a five-minute gag reel, both included on the final disc. There are no behind-the-scenes material, cast interviews, or commentary tracks. Overall, if you are a fan of adult humor (there are tons of sex and drug references) or at least not bothered by that type of humor, and have liked the prior seasons, chances are you will like this one. Even though it is a raunchier comedy than many sitcoms on network TV, the characters are still likable and care about each other. The actors seemingly have great chemistry and enjoy being around each other (or fake it well). If you liked the prior seasons, you will probably like this one. On the other hand, if you are not a fan of the prior seasons, nothing about this one will likely convert you.
Monday, September 16, 2024
DVD/Movie Review: 2 Broke Girls Season 3
The season is a little lighter on character development this season, although we do get to meet Han's mother in a hilarious episode. The season focuses mainly on the relationship between Max and Caroline and their various trials and obstacles as they try to make the cupcake business successful. The other characters are mostly there for comic relief.
The DVD set is a three-disc set. The extras are all included on the final disc and are comprised of 18 minutes of deleted/extended/alternate scenes and a seven-minute gag reel. There are no making-of features, cast interviews, or the like as there were in the first two seasons. Overall, the show follows pretty much the same format as the first two seasons and definitely pushes boundaries with the sexual humor. It is not a show that will appeal to everyone, but if you are a fan of the first two seasons, you will likely enjoy this one as well.